Ask Skift is our artificial intelligence chatbot that offers a new way for readers to better engage with our breadth of knowledge and our latest experimentation creating products travel professionals rely on. It digs into news stories, Skift Research reports, Airline Weekly issues, Skift Live events, the Daily Lodging Report, and more to answer many questions about the travel industry.
Here we asked it to provide a timeline that gives us better perspective on Airbnb’s relationship with one of its larger markets, New York City.
Can you provide a 10-year timeline covering Airbnb news in New York City?
Here is a timeline of Airbnb news in New York City over the past 10 years:
1. 2013: New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman subpoenas Airbnb user records for hosts and guests in New York City (October 2013).
2. 2014: Skift and Connotate’s research shows that at least two-thirds of all Airbnb hosts in New York City were likely breaking the state’s short-term rental law (February 2014). In May 2014, a judge rules that the New York Airbnb subpoena is too broad, and the Attorney General will narrow the request.
3. 2015: New York City Council holds an eight-hour hearing to discuss the state of short-term rentals in the city, where Airbnb advocates for a change in the law that makes it illegal to rent an entire apartment for fewer than 30 days a month (January 2015). In November 2015, New York City plans to spend $10 million to regulate Airbnb and illegal hotels.
4. 2016: New York amends its state law to ban the advertising of short-term rentals (October 2016). Airbnb files a lawsuit against both the state and the city of New York, challenging the applicability of the 2016 amendment. In November and December 2016, Airbnb settles the lawsuit against the state and the city, with each agreeing not to enforce the amended law against the company.
5. 2018: New York City enacts a new law requiring home-sharing platforms to disclose detailed data on hosts and listings to the city on a monthly basis (July 2018). In August 2018, Airbnb files a lawsuit against the city, challenging the new data disclosure law on constitutional and statutory grounds.
6. 2019: In January 2019, a federal judge enters a preliminary injunction barring the new data disclosure law from going into effect. In February 2020, the parties request that the court stay the action so that they can explore settlement.
7. 2020: In June 2020, Airbnb settles its lawsuit with New York City, leading to the amendment of the city ordinance to reduce the number of listings subject to data sharing and to provide for the confidentiality of data.
8. 2021: The revised ordinance, which requires home-sharing platforms to disclose detailed data on hosts and listings to the city on a monthly basis, goes into effect in January 2021.
9. 2023: New York City expands its short-term rental ban by 2,300 more buildings and is in the process of clamping down on illegal short-term rentals, with fines against both hosts and platforms like Airbnb, Vrbo, and Booking.com for non-compliance set to begin in July (March 2023).
1. 2013: New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman subpoenas Airbnb user records for hosts and guests in New York City (October 2013).
2. 2014: Skift and Connotate’s research shows that at least two-thirds of all Airbnb hosts in New York City were likely breaking the state’s short-term rental law (February 2014). In May 2014, a judge rules that the New York Airbnb subpoena is too broad, and the Attorney General will narrow the request.
3. 2015: New York City Council holds an eight-hour hearing to discuss the state of short-term rentals in the city, where Airbnb advocates for a change in the law that makes it illegal to rent an entire apartment for fewer than 30 days a month (January 2015). In November 2015, New York City plans to spend $10 million to regulate Airbnb and illegal hotels.
4. 2016: New York amends its state law to ban the advertising of short-term rentals (October 2016). Airbnb files a lawsuit against both the state and the city of New York, challenging the applicability of the 2016 amendment. In November and December 2016, Airbnb settles the lawsuit against the state and the city, with each agreeing not to enforce the amended law against the company.
5. 2018: New York City enacts a new law requiring home-sharing platforms to disclose detailed data on hosts and listings to the city on a monthly basis (July 2018). In August 2018, Airbnb files a lawsuit against the city, challenging the new data disclosure law on constitutional and statutory grounds.
6. 2019: In January 2019, a federal judge enters a preliminary injunction barring the new data disclosure law from going into effect. In February 2020, the parties request that the court stay the action so that they can explore settlement.
7. 2020: In June 2020, Airbnb settles its lawsuit with New York City, leading to the amendment of the city ordinance to reduce the number of listings subject to data sharing and to provide for the confidentiality of data.
8. 2021: The revised ordinance, which requires home-sharing platforms to disclose detailed data on hosts and listings to the city on a monthly basis, goes into effect in January 2021.
9. 2023: New York City expands its short-term rental ban by 2,300 more buildings and is in the process of clamping down on illegal short-term rentals, with fines against both hosts and platforms like Airbnb, Vrbo, and Booking.com for non-compliance set to begin in July (March 2023).
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